


Legacy and Loneliness

by enbyred



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien's desperate for answers, Angst and Humor, Episode: s02 Le Hibou Noir | Dark Owl, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Humor, Plagg Cares, angsty adrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 07:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14666145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbyred/pseuds/enbyred
Summary: After the fight with Dark Owl, Adrien tries to convince Plagg to tell him things. Plagg gives Adrien plenty of information, but not the kind he expected.





	Legacy and Loneliness

“I can’t  _ believe _ this, Plagg!” Adrien flopped down on his bed, glaring up at the ceiling as though it had wronged him. “Can you believe it? Ladybug was  _ right there _ ! She detransformed in front of me! And...and I detransformed in front of her!” His eyes widened and he shot upright. “Plagg, she had to get the fake Miraculouses and put them in the box. There’s no way she could have done it so quickly without opening her eyes. Do you think she saw me? Do you think she knows who I am?” Desperation tugged at his voice.

Sighing, Plagg put a paw on Adrien’s forehead and shoved him gently. “Relax, kid. I saw her. She didn’t open her eyes. And if she did, it was only after she turned away. You think she would be that unfair to you?”

Adrien thought for a moment and muttered, “No,” before lying back down. Plagg floated over and sat on the mattress next to him. “Ladybug’s not the kind of person to tell me to close my eyes and then sneak a peek herself. She’s too honest for that.” He narrowed his eyes and stared at Plagg, who shifted uncomfortably. “But...you  _ did _ see who Ladybug really is.”

The Kwami fidgeted. “I did.” He avoided looking at Adrien, flying away to busy himself with a wedge of cheese.

Sitting up with a smirk on his face, Adrien said, “You could tell me who she is. I bet her Kwami’s already told her about me.” He doubted this would work, but it was worth a shot.

Plagg scoffed. “She’d never do that. Tikki is like Ladybug. She wouldn’t dare tell Ma-- _ Ladybug _ who you are.” Puffing his chest out proudly, he bragged, “I’ve never known anyone as good at keeping a secret as my best friend Tikki.”

Adrien had to admit that it was sweet to hear Plagg talk about another Kwami--his literal other half, and his best friend. Changing the topic, he asked, “How long has it been since you two saw each other? Before today?”

Plagg thought for a moment. “I’d say about fifty years. We were locked up for a while, and the Miraculouses weren’t active, so we were asleep inside them.” A hint of sadness made its way onto his small face.

“Oh…” Leaning back, Adrien quietly said, “I’m so sorry. It must be hard to be kept away from your best friend for so long.”

With a shrug, Plagg forced a smile. “We’re thousands of years old. Fifty years feels more like a month. We had to accept a long time ago that being two halves of a whole meant that we would be apart. And sure, I like knowing who Ladybug is now...but I’m just glad that I got to see Tikki.” The look on Plagg’s face was a faraway one of pure adoration. Adrien imagined what it would be like to be separated from Nino or Ladybug for several years at a time, knowing where the other was, but not able to be with them. And then multiplied that feeling by a thousand. He had never considered how lonely Plagg must be without Tikki. The last time they had seen each other was before Adrien’s father was born, and somehow they were able to keep quiet and return to their holders to continue the fight against Dark Owl.

Plagg nudged Adrien and gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, kid. We’re used to it. Having power like ours comes with a price. And it’s not like we  _ never _ see each other.”

“Yeah, but…”  _ We're used to it _ , Adrien thought, is one of the worst phrases. “Being used to something doesn't make it less sad. It's  _ more _ sad, if you ask me.” He tried not to let his mind wander to his nonexistent relationship with his father. Just because he was used to it didn’t mean it didn’t upset him.

Sighing, Plagg admitted, “There are some things you just have to accept. Trust me, no one would love for you and Ladybug to reveal your identities more than I would, but if that ever does happen, it's a long way down the line. Ladybug isn't ready. Whatever. Tikki and I will survive.” The reassuring smile he offered was so obviously forced that Adrien couldn't return it. He began to wish he knew Ladybug's identity, not for his own sake, but so Plagg could spend the time he deserved with Tikki.

Trying to find any other way around it, Adrien suggested, “Would you be able to go see her, now that you know who her holder is? Or she could come here?”

Plagg shook his head. “You know that you and I gotta stick close to each other in case there’s an Akuma. I’ll just sneak into her bag at school or something, that way you and I won’t be too far apart.” If a black cat could go pale, he would have upon realizing what he said.

“At school…?” Adrien’s eyes widened and he picked Plagg up, holding him close to his face. “Plagg, does Ladybug go to school with me? IS SHE IN MY CLASS?”

“I’M NOT TELLING YOU!” Plagg wiggled in Adrien’s grasp, getting himself free and flying in circles overhead. “Try all you want, I’ve been doing this since before your recorded history began! I kept Ladybug’s identity a secret from Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc, I can keep her a secret from a kid model.”

Adrien processed Plagg’s words and let out a low whistle, scratching the back of his head. “Alexander the Great and Joan of Arc have had my Miraculous, huh? That’s a lot to live up to…”

Plagg shrugged, glad for the change of topic, and landed back at his cheese. “Alex wasn’t that great. Joan was cool, though. Most of the cool things she did were  _ my _ ideas. Her Ladybug was Duke John the Second of Alencon, by the way. Little history fact for you. Bet your teachers don’t know  _ that _ .” He took a large bite of Camembert.

“Huh.” He considered doing research about the Miraculouses, since he clearly knew nothing about this power he had been given, but quickly realized that there would hardly be any information on the Internet. Asking Plagg to re-teach him history would get him more, though he knew the lazy Kwami wouldn’t be much help at all. If only he could talk to this Tikki. She would help him. Still, Adrien headed to his computer and aimlessly pulled up the Ladyblog, staring at the latest footage Alya had gotten of Ladybug rushing to the school to take care of Dark Owl’s Akuma. Plagg slowly floated over and rested on Adrien’s shoulder, looking at the footage with him.

“I wish I could tell you,” Plagg muttered. “I know how much you love her.”

Shaking his head, Adrien leaned back and sighed. “Ladybug will tell me who she is whenever she’s ready.” He smirked. “At least for now I have the hint that she goes to school with me. Just be subtle when you go see Tikki while I’m in class.”

Plagg rolled his eyes and reminded him, “I’ve been doing this for  _ thousands of years _ .”

“At this point, I’ve just got one more question,” Adrien said, ignoring Plagg’s statement. “I didn’t have any Camembert earlier. What in the world did you eat, and how did Tikki get you to eat it?”

The Kwami immediately seized the opportunity. “Tikki likes sweets, and every so often I like the things she shares with me. It was a macaroon from that bakery owned by the parents of the girl in your class.”

“Marinette?”

“Yeah, her. But the thing is, that wasn’t any old macaroon, that was an  _ exquisite _ macaroon. I won’t accept anything less than macaroons from  _ that particular bakery _ . So guess what, if you want to get me to stop stinking up your room with cheese, you’re about to become a regular at that bakery, and everyone’s going to be concerned about your sweet tooth.”

Adrien scoffed. “That’s better than smelling like Camembert all the time. I’ll  _ definitely _ be picking up some macaroons tomorrow. I’ll text Marinette and see if she can set a box aside for me.” He picked up his phone and began typing to her.

Plagg grinned and sat on the computer mouse, glancing up at the Ladybug footage. Tikki would be so proud of him for taking the matchmaking into his own paws.


End file.
